Insensitivity
by spectralEquilibrator
Summary: Karkat had been abused by his stepfather since his father died, and his whole life seemed to just... suck when his best friend went blind. Together, Terezi and Sollux must try to help Karkat forget his past. M for abuse. TerezixKarkat pairing.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Warning in advance for abuse. This is not a very happy story, but I promise it gets better in the future. This is also my first story, so if it isn't any good, I apologize for that. **

**This is a Homestuck fanfiction! All of the characters belong to Andrew Hussie, but I came up with the storyline. I also added some things in there about the ancestors at the very end, but this story is not at all about them. **

**If you have not read Homestuck yet, I seriously recommend doing so! I also did intend for the characters to be slightly OOC, but it's not super noticeable. They're all human, and this is not following the original storyline. **

**Rated M for abuse, violence, and other intense subjects. **

**Matesprit Pairing: TerezixKarkat **

**Moirail Pairing: TerezixKarkatxSollux or however you want to interpret it. **

**Enjoy ~SE :]**

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><p><strong>Karkat Vantas<strong>

"Terezi? Are you okay? Oh my god. Shit. Fuck. What the fuck happened to her?" I seethed to Vriska, standing in front of the hospital bed that my best friend lay in. She had her eyes shut, and there was a thick white bandage wrapped around her head, soaked in blood. Tears were streaming down her face and she opened her eyes when I started yelling.

"Karkat, is that you? Karkat I can't see you. I can't see anything. I'm scared Karkles." Terezi muttered, her voice sounding so innocent and helpless. I ran to her side and took her hand to show her that I was there.

"I'm here. I'm not going to leave you here. I'll stay here with you." I ran my thumb over her fingers, just under the place where her knuckles were covered in blood. "VRISKA SERKET. YOU FUCKING BLINDED HER." I stood, shouting at the devious girl who sat casually in a chair meant for guests. "YOU HAVE GONE TOO FAR THIS TIME. TOO FUCKING FAR."

"Karkat, I think it would be best if you calmed down right now." Rose, Terezi's mother said, opening the door into the hospital bedroom. Her face was stained with tears. "May I talk to you in the hallway?" She added. I sighed, letting go of Terezi's hand as I followed Rose outside. When the door was shut, she turned to face me.

"I'm sorry, okay? I didn't mean to shout." I looked down at my shoes as Kanaya, Terezi's stepmother joined Rose to come stare down at me.

"That wasn't what we pulled you out here for." Rose murmured. "Karkat, you've been there for Terezi forever, and you're like family to us." She paused and I nodded. "So we thought it would be best to tell you about her condition."

"At this moment, Terezi isn't in the best circumstances. Her doctor has just told us of how badly damaged her vision is. When Vriska pushed her through a window, one of the shards of glass went directly and deeply into her head. It severed the nerves connected to her eyes." Kanaya said, looking sadly at her adoptive daughter through the window.

"Karkat, there's nothing they can do. She's permanently blind."

I wanted to stay to be there to comfort Terezi, but I knew I had to get home before my stepdad, Ivan. _Shit_, I thought, _it's already four. _I ran outside, quickly unhooking my bike from the meter I had chained it up to. I hopped onto it, peddling as fast as I could in the direction of my house. Thank god I lived in the suburbs, where there weren't many cars out. I pulled into the driveway, not seeing my stepdad's car in the driveway. Then, as I was passing by the garage door, I saw his orange Ford Pinto, shoved into the tiny space.

I let out a huge breath, anticipating what was to come. I knew how much he hated it when I was late. When I didn't get back in time, not only was I jeopardizing myself, but my mom. I opened the door quietly, hoping he wouldn't notice when I slipped in. Suddenly, I was being grabbed by the throat.

There stood my stepfather, his belt in his hand.

"Boy, what shit are you trying to pull?" He growled, shaking me roughly. "You come late and expect me to get my own fucking beer?" His grip on my through tightened as I looked up at him emotionlessly.

"What, tell me, what is too important that you cannot come and help your family?" Ivan, set me on my feet and pat his fat stomach. "And you haven't started dinner. You little shithead. What do you expect me to eat?"

"I'm sorry, okay? I was late because my frien-" I tried to explain, but was quickly cut off by Ivan's loud guffaw of a laugh.

"You think I care, don't you?" He laughed again. "Turn around boy, and take your shirt off." I turned obediently and pulled the cheap cotton tee shirt over my head.

And then he started lashing me with the belt.

I woke up in a pool of my own blood.

_Oh god, _I thought, gingerly pulling myself up. I hobbled into the bathroom to inspect the damage. He had knocked me out again, probably getting too caught up in his irrational anger. I turned on the light, noticing how tight my wrist was as I flicked it up. There was definitely bruising there, probably from when he had held my hands behind my back… _Don't think about it_. _It will just hurt more._

There was some severe bruising on my neck and cheekbones, but my chest was surprisingly untouched. And my back, oh my back. It was covered in bloody marks and purple lines that ran from my shoulders to my hips. Blood had run down my back, soaking in the waist of my pants.

Ivan usually got home before me. Most nights started like this. When my mother had first married that creep, it was her who was beaten. She was so fragile and weak and broke so easily. The smallest things that she did would set him off. When I was about fourteen, two years after she had married him, I had defended her.

On that first night, he was extremely angry. I thought he was going to kill her. So I dove in front of her, telling her to go to her room quickly. She didn't protest, or defend me. Ever since my dad died, my real dad, she didn't seem to realize I existed anymore. So Ivan had lashed me, with the leather strip from his closet full of torture devices. I had cried out in pain and suffering, my skin breaking easily at the first hit. It wasn't until he had started punching me that I had shut up. I couldn't remember if I couldn't breathe, or if I just got smart. Either way, it was how I learned that the more noise I made, the longer the beatings were.

Now that I was seventeen, I could take it. I had been toughened. My mother probably would have been dead if it weren't for me. From that day forward, Ivan decided that if I weren't home at 4:30, he wouldn't beat me. He would go after my mother.

I remember one day, one day when I had decided to have just a little bit of fun with my friends. I took one day to myself and came home to find my mother bruised on the floor, blood flowing from a cut above her eye. I had told her to go upstairs, to go to her room, to get away from that fucking bastard. The nerve he had hitting a lady like my mom.

I looked back in the mirror, wiping the blood from my nose. I pulled the make-up that I had out of the cabinet. I used it to cover up the bruises before I went to school. Ivan hated to see his dirty work too. I quickly coated my face and my neck before I went out to order a pizza. I didn't have any time to make dinner. I pulled on a clean shirt from the pile I kept under the sink for this exact situation.

That night was probably terrible for Terezi.

"Kk are you okay? You haven't been sthmiling much in thethe patht weekth." Sollux asked me, looking at me from across the lunch table. "Ith thith about Terezi?" He lisped. Sollux had had braces for three years and never really got over his lisp. I didn't really have any problem with it, but he did get teased a lot when no one was around. He didn't really like talking about his speech impediment, because he thought it weakened him.

"Yeah. I'm just worried about her. It's been about a month and she hasn't even tried to talk to me." I said, half lying. What had me at a loss of words were my stepfathers beatings. That was always what had me behind socially. But of course, Terezi was on my mind. We had been best friends since 2nd grade, when I was being teased and Terezi was the one to come and beat the bullies up. That said a lot about me, that I had to be saved by a girl who was tinier than I was.

Now that she was blind, I didn't know what I would do. Terezi was pretty unreadable, so I couldn't tell if she was going to struggle through this to an unbearable point. I sighed and stood up from my seat at the bench. Sollux looked at me raised an eyebrow.

"What'th up? Where are you going?" He asked, taking a bite of his peanut butter and honey sandwich.

"I'm skipping class. I'm going to go see Terezi." I decided. There were only two more periods in the day and I was a senior anyway, so not that much mattered.

"What about her momsth?" Sollux asked, throwing the rest of his sandwich away.

"They won't care." I packed up my books and slung my backpack over my shoulder.

"What are you planning to do, bike there? Come on I'll drive your thorry asth." I watched as my friend led me over toward the parking lot. He got into his yellow convertible car, sitting in the driver's seat. He waved for me to come into the car, rolling his eyes when my face spread into a wide grin.

"Thanks fuckass." I said affectionately.

"Yeah, I know I'm great." Sollux drove the familiar path to Terezi's house. He probably knew the way like the back of his hand. Terezi, Sollux, and I were basically like a trio. Most of the time inseparable. It hardly made sense because our personalities were all so different. Sollux was the tall, lanky, popular kind of computer geek. Terezi was basically the bubbly weird girl, who liked to execute her dolls. I was just a cranky, crabby jerk, difficult to get along with. But Sollux and Terezi had their way of getting around my tough, insensitive shell. I was like a crab. Hard and sharp on the outside, but all mushy on the inside.

"Can I come, kk?" Sollux asked me, looking nervously at me, as if it were my decision.

"I'm sure that Terezi would want to see you too, shithead." I rolled my eyes.

"Love you too, bro." He said sarcastically. I pulled myself out of the car, walking in the direction of Terezi's house. I stood on the porch, waiting for Sollux to lock his beloved car and join me. I knocked on the door tentatively. Kanaya answered the door, smiling when she saw the pair of us.

"Mr. Captor, I was wondering when we'd be seeing you around." Kanaya said, her curious yellow eyes sizing us up. "How have you been?"

"I've been fine-" I cut my best friend off quickly.

"How's T?" I asked, my words rushed, anxious to see her.

"She's doing quite a bit much better than before. The wound on her head has almost completely healed, and she has seemed to have… adjusted to the idea of losing her sight." She smiled at my concern.

"Aren't you boys supposed to be in school?" Rose called from the other room. "Just let them in, Darling. They want to see Terezi." Kanaya stepped aside and allowed Sollux and I to pass. I started moving toward the room I knew to be Terezi's when Rose caught my arm as I passed her chair. "She's been asking for you."

I nodded solemnly, understanding Roses request. She was saying, _don't leave her. Don't let Terezi be caught up in the darkness._ I knew that because of her inability to see, she would be more off track than ever.

I followed Sollux up to her bedroom, leaving the two doting mothers behind. He took the steep stairs two at a time, obviously anxious to see her. I sighed and moved at my own pace, a little less enthusiastic. I was afraid of what I'd see. I knew already that what I had seen in the hospital was worse than how she'd be now.

I braced myself and turned the corner into her room. It was a lot different than how I'd seen it last. It was almost completely covered in color. The walls had been painted red, and purple, and even some parts were orange. It was all messily done, obviously by Terezi. On the walls hung colorful metal scales that she had collected ever since she was little. The floor was covered with colorful carpets and there were three boxes of chalk scattered across the floor, her blind drawings covering the one blank wall. It was dimly lit, but I guess it made sense. She didn't really need the light anymore.

"Terezi?" I asked, cautiously approaching her. She was hugging Sollux tightly, her arms wrapped around his neck. Covering her eyes were now a pair of red tinted, pointed glasses. When she heard my voice, she looked up from where she had been burying her nose in Sollux's neck. She didn't look directly at me, but it was close enough. Her face was so… blank. I sighed to myself. _Fuck, she's messed up._

"Karkat?" She murmured, untangling herself from the hug. Her eyes were wide open behind her glasses, but I couldn't see her pupils anymore. She stepped away from Sollux and walked directly toward me, shocking me.

"Can you… see me?" I asked, confused about how she knew exactly where I was.

"No, I can't see you dumbass." She smirked, still not meeting my eyes directly. There was the Terezi I was hoping to see. I quickly wrapped my arms around her tiny waist, slightly lifting her up as I hugged her. I clung to her like a lifeline, my eyes dampening.

She would never get to have normal human experiences. She would never be able to get around very easily. She would never be able to see people's facial expressions. She would never get to look at the stars or watch the sunset. She was stuck. Stuck staring out fake red glasses with empty, pupil-lacking eyes.

"Karkles, are you crying?" She asked, chuckling deviously. "You know it really isn't that bad."

"I'm not fucking crying." I snapped.

"Sureeeeee." She rested her head on my chest. "It's okay, I cried too." She paused and pulled away a bit so she could touch my face. "But I've figured out a way to see."

"What?" Sollux asked, sitting down on her bed.

"I can _smell_." She grinned aimlessly, moving over to sit next to Sollux on her bed. She didn't falter in her step, and was amazingly able to get exactly where she wanted to go without any hesitation.

"What do you mean you can smell?" I asked incredulously, sitting next to the both of them.

"I can smell and taste the colors. Karkat, they're all different flavors. And it's all soo good." She grinned, leaning back against her bed. "I think it's weird sometimes, but it helps me. I can see with my tongue and my nose."

"That is one of the thupidetht thingth I've ever heard." Sollux said bluntly. Terezi started laughing.

"So? It's how I get around." Everyone paused for a second, and then we all broke out into laughter. "Not that way!"

"I've missed you, T." I admitted, leaning my head against her shoulder.

"I'm coming back to school in a week." She blurted.

"What?" Sollux's eyes widened.

"I'm okay. I can handle schoolwork." Terezi grinned aimlessly.

"I don't think it's schoolwork you'll have trouble with." I responded. "Terezi, you're fucking blind. Do you think you'll be able to deal with this shit?" The angrier I got, the more I swore. I was angry at Terezi for being so strong. Or maybe I was just jealous. I was jealous that she could take something like being blind in such little stress. When I was weak enough to run and cower from my stepfather.

"Well, I'm thorry I have to leave but I have to be back at thchool before 7th period. I have a test." Sollux said, breaking the heavy silence.

"It's okay, Sollux, you can go." Terezi said, smiling in his general direction. It was good enough for him. He patted her head and strode out of the room. It had been a few minutes of silence as I looked around Terezi's room. Then she spoke. "I'm not pressing charges against Vriska." She said.

"What!" I exclaimed. "Are you fucking kidding me?"

"She didn't do anything wrong." Terezi stared off into blank space, her face nearly emotionless.

"SHE BLINDED YOU." I enunciated each word carefully, making sure she understood me.

"No she didn't. A shard of glass from a window blinded me." She said, her jaw clenching.

"But what made you fall out of the window?" I asked her, glaring at her. It's not like she could tell.

"Gravity?" She offered.

"Vriska pushed you out of the window. She deserves to pay for that!" I growled.

"It's not like we're low on money." Terezi turned to where she thought I was, which was pretty accurate.

"She's a bitch, T. Spiderbitch. She needs to be punished. Don't you even feel a little bit angry at her?" I stood and then kneeled down in front of her. She put one of her hands on my shoulder.

"She's my friend, Karkat." Even though her face was emotionless, her voice was laced with a tone of pain that made my heart wrench. "Or, at least she was at some point."

"I give up on you." I sighed incredulously. "I give up."

"Karkles, if I pushed you out of a window and you were permanently blinded, would you hate me forever?" She asked. I looked at her for a second, and seriously considered her question. I don't think there would be anything that Terezi could ever do to make me hate her. I sighed and rested one of my hands on her knee. She continued to stare off into space above my head.

"No." I paused as she blinked, slower than I had ever seen anyone blink. "What did you do?"

"Nothing. I didn't talk to her." She let out a deep sigh. "Karkat, I'm okay, alright? You don't have to protect me from Vriska."

"I know. I'm sorry. I just don't like you being hurt." I looked over at Terezi's wall clock. I had to leave soon, now if I wanted to get home before Ivan. "T, I have to go."

"Why?"

"I… I just have to go." I stood and began walking out of her room. "Bye Terezi. I'll come over sometime. Maybe during lunch or something."

"Bye." She murmured, lying back on her bed. I exited the room and walked down the long staircase. I saw Rose as I was walking toward the door. She had a book in her hand titled 'Being Legally Blind: Observations for Parents of Visually Impaired Children'.

"Goodbye Karkat." Were her only words as I stopped in front of her.

"You know, Terezi isn't a child anymore." I said, suddenly angry with the book.

"I was aware of that." She didn't look up, but continued reading.

"Look, I know you don't like me. You think I'm a bad influence on T or whatever but I just wanted you to know, you aren't getting rid of me any time soon." I growled.

"Karkat, I do not have anything against you. I just want what's best for Terezi. Right now, I believe it is best if you _do_ stay around." She finally glanced up at me, her magenta eyes piercing up into mine. "Just don't hurt her."

"I would never." And with that, I turned and stormed out of the house. I ran out to the sidewalk and then cursed. I didn't have my bike. I was at a loss of decisions to make at that point and broke off into a run toward my house.

I knew what was coming at this point. Ivan would be waiting. I prepared myself for the upcoming beating. Usually, I just made myself as angry as possible. The twisted and sick thing about Ivan, was that he didn't have any anger issues, or any sort of condition that gave him a good excuse for beating me. He just enjoyed watching me suffer, and bleed. Sometimes he would make me watch him as he carelessly took swings at me, and I could see a maniacal grin spread across his face. If I showed any sort of emotion, the smile grew, enjoying my pain.

I got to my block and my confidence grew. I felt the anger and sickness boiling up inside my chest. I pushed open the door to my house, glaring inside. But I didn't make it very far. Coming out of the darkness was Ivan, a maroon suitcase in one of his fists.

"Tell me boy," he said calmly, "what do I not tolerate in this household?"

"Me." I scoffed under my breath. He put the suitcase on the back of the couch and worked on unbuckling it.

"What was that!" He growled.

"Lateness!" I shouted. "Y-you don't, t-tolerate lateness." There went my confidence.

"And we both know very well that in my house, when you do something wrong, you get punished." I turned my head away from him, not looking as he chose his weapon. "You will Suffer from your choices." He was right. I would always suffer from Ivan's tormenting.

I was the Sufferer.


	2. Chapter 2

**Karkat Vantas**

I had never really considered what would happen to my mother after I left for college. Not until that night. It was prom. My senior prom, the day that I would take Terezi out, and really tell her how I felt. I knew that ever since we were kids she had dreamed of her prom. She was never super girly, but I knew that she liked the concept of her prom being perfect. I had planned to make that happen for so long. Her being blind now wasn't going to stop me.

"Kk, that one fit you perfectly fine." Sollux grumbled as I stripped off the tuxedo angrily.

"No it doesn't. Nothing fucking fits. I'll look like an angry midget and it will ruin everything." I ran my hands through my hair and then pulled the next suit on.

"Thhe can't thee you, thtupid." He rolled his eyes as I again, pulled off the tuxedo.

"Well, that doesn't matter. It still has to be perfect." I growled. "Look Sollux, I'm not just worried about it being perfect for her in the ways she'll see. It has to be absolutely fucking perfect in every way possible. Then she'll be able to look back at me and think positively."

"You love her."

"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?" My eyes widened imeadiately and I whipped my head around, to glare into his silly glasses.

"Itth obviouth." He tried to continue, but I cut him off.

"Would you just stop lisping for a second? I know you've been faking it for a long time and I just need to talk to you seriously for just a fucking minute." I sat down on the bench in the changing room across from my best friend and rested my elbows on my knees. We were in some massive department store at nine p.m. on a Wednesday, so it was basically deserted. Ivan was on a business trip for the night so I decided it was the perfect time to go out. Sollux was coincidentally avaliable.

"Its obvious. You love her and you have loved her since 8th grade." He sighed. "Look Karkat, Terezi has gone through a lot. And you'll never be able to have a normal relationship with her. Maybe it would be best to just be friends with her."

"I'm not looking for a normal relationship, _Sollux_. And if you understand how much I do care about her, you'd just agree with me." I seethed through my teeth.

"Look, you know I love TZ like a sister. I just don't want her to get hurt because she can't do those normal relationship things with you." He patted me on the shoulder and stood up, readjusting his belt. "I'm sorry I offended you."

"Its okay man." I sighed and grabbed the last tuxedo I tried on. "This is good enough. Lets go."

"Are you sure?" Sollux furrowed his brow at me and then looked at his watch. "We've only been here for an hour. You can try on-"

"No, I'm alright." I sighed quietly to make sure that he wouldn't be able to see my dissapointment. Sollux patted me on the back and then exited the changing rooms. I went over to the register and flopped the tuxedo onto the counter. The lady looked at me suspiciously and then rung it up. I pulled my wallet out of my pocket. "What was the price?"

"$345.95" She murmured monotonously. I could swear that my eyes bugged out of my head.

"I only have $220." I sighed and was about to turn away when a thin fingered hand pushed a credit card onto the table. I turned and looked up at Sollux incredulously. He shook his head at me, knowing I would protest. I still did. "Sollux, no. I'll just get something online."

"Shut up, Karkat."

As we were walking out of the mall or whatever, I handed Sollux all of my money. He sighed and put it in his pocket.

"I'll pay you the rest back as soon as I can." I murmured.

"Don't bother. I know how important this is to you. I mean, I have a lot of money anyways. I'm good." He paused for a long moment, looking down at his shoes. I felt guilty. Sollux was the best friend anyone could ever have.

After a while, Sollux spoke up, barely in a whisper. "How did you know?"

"What?"

"My lisp. How did you know I was faking it?" He stopped walking and I realized we had reached his car. The front windshield was covered with leaves.

"I'm not sure. I know you pretty well, believe it or not." I murmured sarcastically.

"Seriously, kk. How the fuck did you know?" He turned and looked at me, peering over the top of the frames of his glasses.

"When you and Terezi are talking alone, you don't lisp." I admitted. "Terezi butt-dialed me once and I listened in for a little bit. I don't know, Sollux, it doesn't fucking matter. I know you trust her more than me."

"I'm sorry."

"No, its okay. But you should stop lisping from now on. Your voice is actually nice." I got into the car, looking over at Sollux, who's face was completely emotionless. He turned the key in the ignition and pulled out of the parking lot, driving me home without a word.

"Thanks." I bent down and looked at my friend before closing the door. He nodded once, and then drove away. I opened the door, to the house and threw my backpack onto the couch, planning on enjoying my one night of freedom from Ivan. I turned on the TV, grabbed one of Ivan's beers from the fridge, and cracked it open. I had drinken alcohol before, on those nights when it was particularly bad, it took a bit of the burning pain off. Tonight, it was purely for celebrational matters. I had finished one whole can, and then decided to go to bed. I could have done something more spectacular and exciting, but I decided against it. I had school tomorrow, and I wasn't going to miss seeing Terezi, ever.

Every day, at school, I was on the edge of my seat, waiting for lunch to come so I could see her. Of course, I knew she didn't do the same thing, mainly because she couldn't see. But the second I saw her, my heart began beating quickly and I was a bit glad she was blind so she couldn't see my face heat up. It went like this every day. About halfway through lunch, usually, after making through his daily rounds with his many friends, Sollux showed up. Lunch was never anything special, but it was always the highlight of my day.

I realized that I was slowly falling asleep as I went through my lunchtime routine in my head. I sighed, pulled my pants off, and crawled under the sheets of my bed, thinking that for once, everything was right with the world.

I was wrong.

I was startled awake by the feeling of my ankles being grabbed and thrown against the floor. My eyes flew open and there I sat, staring Ivan directly in the face. He yanked me up by my shoulder and clasped his right hand around my throat. His left hand held the maroon suitcase. He dropped the suitcase on the ground and lifted me off of the bed. He then threw me across the room like a ragdoll. I hit the wall underneath my window with a loud thump. When I looked back over at Ivan, he was holding a pair of handcuffs his hands.

"You didn't wait for me." He seethed through his teeth, glaring at me. Ivan slowly aproached me, bending down so he was at about my height. His breath smelled strongly of vodka and scotch. "And you drank one of my fucking beers." He handcuffed my left arm to the foot of my bed and then pulled out a long, leather whip.

Prom Night

"Hey, kid, I'll be gone for the night. Don't expect me back for dinner." Ivan murmured, grabbing his work suitcase and leaving.

There were three hours until prom, and things were going perfectly for me. I didn't need to worry about my shitty stepdad, my date to prom was absolutely gorgeous, and I even had an incredible tuxedo. I knew that this would be my happiest night, probably ever since I started highschool. I knew it sounded cheesy, like an 80's movie.

"OMG MY PROM THE TOTES BEST NIGHT OF MY LYFE BRO." I texted Sollux.

"uhh are you okay" He replied. All day he had sensed my odd mood. This was really out of character for me. I had never been giddy or excited, and usually I just seemed grumpy. So basically, I had gotten a lot of strange looks for the grins I had been throwing around.

I didn't really bother replying to Sollux's message as I went to get ready. I got dressed in the tuxedo and then walked into the bathroom to see what else I could do. I washed my face and then looked at my great big tangly mess of brown curls. I knew that there wasn't much I could do to actually make my hair look better, but that was okay. It didn't look terrible or anything. Just a bit messy. When I had done what I _could_ do, I went to get shoes.

Shit. Shoes. I had forgotten to buy shoes. Sollux was coming to pick me up in ten minutes. I didn't have any time. So I simply pulled on a pair of black converse. I walked down the hallway and toward the front door so I could wait outside for my friend when a small voice stopped me.

"Karkat." My mother's voice was nearly a whisper. She was peering out of her room, looking me up and down. "You look very handsome."

I nodded in her direction, mumbling a small and timid sounding thanks. She hadn't spoken to me in a long time. Maybe years. She didn't seem like my mother anymore. She was simply just the woman who came downstairs occasionally to eat the dinners that I made, the woman who would look at me with a sad look when she saw my bruised face. Otherwise she was usually completely stoic.

I shook those thoughts from my head and opened the front door, turning to say one last thing to my mom before I left.

"You'll be safe tonight." I called, just before slamming the door behind me. I locked it and then went over to Sollux's car.

"Hey guys." The car door opened behind me. I was about to get out and go get Terezi from inside, but she had run to the car before I was able to. She was panting and breathing heavily, struggling to get her cane into the car. She took a long breath through her nose, and then pulled the cane through effortlessly. I turned to look at her but it was too dark to see what she was wearing.

"Are you ready, tz?" Sollux asked, pulling the car into drive.

"Yep!" She exclaimed, wrapping her arms around my headrest. "I'm sooooo excited! I can't wait!" On the way to the school, she continued to chatter about whatever, and I listened to every word. Sollux subtly rolled his eyes at me, and I stuck my tongue out at him.

The prom was held in the schools gymnasium every year because they couldn't afford to have it anywhere else. I knew that there would probably be some shitty decorations and some crappy music, but it was okay, because it was prom and everyone had to deal with shitty decorations and crappy music on their prom night. Sollux pulled into the parking lot and turned his car off, looking over at me.

I got out and opened the door for Terezi, who nearly youth rolled out. It was then when I got a clear look at her. She was wearing a knee length white dress that had a long red ribbon wrapped around it and tied in a giant bow in the back. The bottom of the dress flared out and acted a bit like a tutu because of all the layers of fabric beneath it. She wasn't wearing her red glasses, the ones she wore every day. Instead I was able to see her eyes, which had now covered with a smokey white clouded layer. Kanaya must have done her makeup because her eyelashes were long and dark, and she had dark eyeshadow on. The top part of her burgandy-red hair was pulled back into a giant white bow that sat on the back of her head comforably. She was wearing bright red converse.

Her whole outfit matched the red and white cane that she now carried. She had nothing accept that with her. As I assessed her, she looked at me with unseeing eyes, her brow furrowed.

"Karkat, are you wearing a tuxedo?" She asked, reaching for my arm. I quickly linked mine through hers. I could feel the heat rising to my cheeks as she felt the fabric of the suit on my arm.

"Yeah." I murmured, looking down at my feet. She faced me for a moment and then her face broke out into a massive grin.

"I knew that this day would come!" She motioned for Sollux to link arms with her too, so she was completely guided the entire way. He easily complied, smirking slightly to himself.

"Of course, madame." He chuckled.

"Sollux, you aren't lisping." She pointed out. "You know that Karkles is here too, right?"

"Yep."

"Oh, okay." Terezi seemed to be guiding _us_ more. She practically pulled us through the doors to the gymnasium, and then imediately yanked us through the crowd. When we had reached a safe, empty corner, she unlinked with Sollux and tapped the side of his leg with her cane. "Where's your date, mister?"

"I don't need a date, silly. The ladies just come to me." He joked. She again, furrowed her brow as she did so often.

"You didn't ask anyone." She sighed and then hit him on the side of the leg again, this time a lot harder. He flinched and then bent down to assess his wounds.

"Ouch! You motherfucking bithch!" He lisped. Terezi grinned.

"Go find a lady, Sollux. I'll dance with you later." She promised and then turned back to me. "Come on, Karkles. Lets dance."

"Karkat?"

"Yeah?"

"Why did you ask me to go to prom with you?"

I sighed and then looked back up at her. We were dancing to some song, but we weren't really dancing, and we were also kind of standing on the edge of the crowd. "Because I like you." I decided to be honest with her.

"How?"

"What do you mean?"

"In what way do you like me?" She stepped on both of my feet so we were at eye level. It was a bit pointless.

"I like you more than a friend, Tez." I mumbled under my breath. "And I have for a really long time." She stepped off of my feet and I could feel the heat rising to my cheeks. I closed my eyes really tightly, waiting for her negative reaction. Instead, she placed her hands on either side of my face. Her icy cold hands burned against my blazing cheeks, red with embaressment. I reopened my eyes and she was looking directly at me, her blind eyes glaring into mine.

She stepped up onto my feet again and closed her eyes, leaning in toward me. She ended up missing and hit the very edge of my lips. It was close enough for me. I turned toward her and pressed my lips into hers. When she pulled away, she had a massive grin on her face.

This was the best night. Ever.

"Bye Sollux." I murmured, unbuckling my seatbelt. Terezi was sitting in the back again. She had been quiet for the entire ride, but she had a small smile on her lips, so I knew she was fine. I got out of the car and then opened the back door, sliding in next to her for a moment. I kissed her cheek delicately and then exited the car again.

"Bye." She whispered as I closed the door. I turned, a massive smile on my face and began walking toward my house. Then I realized.

Ivan's car was in the driveway.

Suddenly my heart started pounded. It was all too quiet. The houses lights were all off and everything looked perfectly fine. But it was too perfect. I slowly made my way toward the house, looking all around me as I walked. The door was unlocked. I swung it open, my heart pounding harder than ever. I felt naucious and angry at the same time. How DARE he interupt my perfect night?

The kitchen was clear of any signs of Ivan so I made my way toward the living room.

I nearly fainted.

My mother lay on the ground, blood gushing from a massive dent on her head. Her body looked mangled and destroyed. Her eyes were open, completely blank. She was dead. I ran to her side imediately, my knees growing weak. I sunk to the floor, next to her corpse, tears flowing freely down my face. I couldn't do anything except sit there, stunned, crying silently.

Suddenly a hand appeared around my neck, cutting off my air supply. I coughed and choked as Ivan's massive fingers pressed into my trachea. He lifted me and flung me across the room. I crashed into the fireplace and landed on my left arm, my head cracking into the marble. My head started spinning and I couldn't see correctly. Ivan was just a massive black shape, slowly aproaching me. I tried to push myself up off the floor, but my left arm was clearly snapped in half, and trying to move it only put me in agonizing pain.

"You thought you could just leave for the night?" He growled, lifting me by my good arm, and putting me on my feet. My vision started to spot and fade. "Wake the fuck up." Ivan shook me. "You were wrong. You always are. You're FUCKING LATE." That second, I decided to sink my teeth into his arm. I bit until I tasted blood. Ivan growled and let go of me. I flopped to the ground and then scurried to my feet, my arm stinging with pain. I ran toward the hall closet, the one that held all of our winter coats.

"Karkat, you have to hit the ball straight! That's it!" My father laughed, smiling. He took the metal baseball bat and demonstrated a swing. Then he handed it back to me. I dropped the bat onto the ground. I knew that it made my father happy, but I really didn't like baseball. I only played it with him because he wanted me to be like him and I wanted to be like him too. And it made him smile really big like when he saw mommy after he was on a long business trip.

"Daddy, I don't like to do sport." I said in my little 5 year old voice. I could feel my lip pout as I kicked at the bat on the ground…

I grabbed the old metal baseball bat from the closet and walked back over to Ivan, holding it with my right hand, ready to hit him with it. I swung as his back was turned and hit him in the side of the ribs. He coughed and spun around to look at me.

"YOU FUCKER!" He screamed, grabbing my wrist and tossing me into the table next to the couch. It collapsed on top of me. I looked up and saw one of my mothers most prised collectibles, a porceline vase, toppling over onto me. It crashed into my head, shards of it burying deep into my scalp. I could no longer form coherent thoughts. My head was spinning. More of my vision was blotching out. All I could feel was a searing pain in my head. But I wasn't about to give up.

"Karkat, you must promise me you'll never touch the sharp part, okay?" My father said, as he showed me the shining katana that he had purchased. My dad had a knack for finding pointless and valuble things on the internet and the katana was one of them.

"No! Don't let him touch it! Hes only 6! He'll get hurt." My mother said, shocked at my father's behavior.

"Calm down, Lydia. I'll put it up here. He wont be able to reach it." My dad smiled at me and then placed it on the mantel of the fireplace…

My fingers groped at the top of the fireplace as Ivan stared down at my mothers body. He had the filthiest smirk on his face, not the kind of face that most would wear when looking at a corpse. My vision teetered from making everything bright blue, to black. Finally I was able to grab the katana from the mantel, and I gripped it in my hand, pushing myself into a standing position. I was a little lopsided, but I felt confident holding my fathers sword in my hands.

"Hey." I rasped. Ivan turned, and then laughed.

"Boy, I thought you were unconcious. What do you think you're doing with that sword?" He asked, grinning. I unsheathed it, throwing the leather covering to the ground. I could tell that the wrist on my good arm was now sprained, from when Ivan had flung me. Even though searing pain spread through my arm as I raised the sword, I continued fighting for my life.

Ivan was much too cocky. He had now decided that I wouldn't be able to do anything, and had turned away. I took that opportunity to run at him with the blade. But before I could reach him, he grabbed my wrist, twisting it backwards. I screamed in pain as the sword turned toward me, slicing through my side. I kicked Ivan in the shin over and over until he finally let go of my hand. I hit him in the face with the but of the katana and he was stunned for a moment, a moment too long.

I stabbed the katana into his stomach.

He looked incredulously at me, his eyes watering with pain. Then he dropped to his knees, and fell to the ground. That was when I collapsed to the ground.

Somehow, I was able to get my cellphone out of my pocket and dial Sollux's number, a feat that I am still puzzled about today. I told him to call the police.

Then I blacked out.


End file.
